Today both will be formally promoted to the rank of Assistant Chief for LakelandPD. With a combined 60 YEARS of service to the Lakeland Community we say THANK YOU and Congratulations to these two gentlemen.

Victor White
began his service with the Lakeland Police Department in 1983 after serving as a Military Policeman in the United States Army. He has a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Science Degree in Criminal Justice with a concentration in Critical Incident Management from Saint Leo University. Victor is a Certified Public Manager through Florida State University, a graduate of the Drug Enforcement Administration Drug Unit Commander Academy (DUCA), the Federal Bureau of Investigations National Academy 239th session (FBINA), the Police Executive Research Forum’s Senior Management Institute for Police (SMIP), and the Federal Bureau of Investigations Florida Executive Development Seminar (FEDS). He is also a Certified Labor Relations Professional through the Florida Public Employees Labor Relations Association (FPELRA).

Ruben Garcia
began his career at the Lakeland Police Department in 1987 after returning home from four years of honorable service in the United States Marine Corps. He will hold the distinction of being the first Hispanic officer to be appointed to the rank of Assistant Chief. He is currently assigned as the Commanding Officer of the Uniformed Patrol Division and will assume the duties of the Commanding Officer of the Neighborhood Services Bureau. Ruben has been assigned to the Special Investigations Section, the Criminal Investigations Section, Neighborhood Liaison Section and the SWAT team during his service with the department. Ruben has a Bachelor of Arts in Criminology from St. Leo University and has completed the School of Police Staff and Command at Northwestern University, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Senior Leadership Program through Florida State University, the State of Florida Certified Public Manager Program and the Police Executive Research Forum’s Senior Management Institute for Police. He is a certified criminal justice high liability instructor in both firearms and defensive tactics.

A promotion ceremony has been scheduled forFriday, July 10, 2015, at 3:00 pm, in the First United Methodist Church Wesley Center (new building), located at 72 Lake Morton Dr. Lakeland, Florida 33801.

On Friday, July 10 at 3:00 p.m. Heather will be sworn in as LakelandPD's newest officer.

Heather was born in December of 1991 in Lakeland, FL. She grew up in Lakeland and attended Lake Gibson Senior High School where she graduated in 2010. She began her career at the City of Lakeland in the Parks and Recreation Department in 2012. In 2013, she began working at the Lakeland Police Department as a Public Safety Aide. Heathers’ dream was to become a police officer. In 2014 the Lakeland Police Department made her dream come true and sponsored her through the Kenneth C. Thompson Institute of Public Safety. Heather is the oldest child in her family with one sister, Amy (20), and one brother, Garrett (17).